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Why Boycott?

The state of Israel was built on land ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian owners. A majority of Palestinians are refugees, most of whom are stateless.

Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel's colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal, and called for effective remedies.

People of conscience in the world have historically fought the injustice of apartheid through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions. As in the struggle of South Africans against apartheid, we in the Hudson Valley support the Palestinians in their fight for justice.

Monday, April 18, 2016

A wave of bills aimed at punishing or suppressing boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns for Palestinian freedom have been introduced in state legislatures across the country. Click on a state below for more information about specific anti-BDS legislation and to take action to protect your #RightToBoycott.

Monday, April 4, 2016

We are writing to strongly oppose A.9036, currently in the Governmental Operations Committee of the NY Assembly, as well as any similar legislation that creates unconstitutional blacklists. We share deep concerns about unconstitutional attacks on boycotts, a form of protected political speech. We call on you to stop this legislation, and oppose any similar efforts.

This legislation mandates that New York State create a blacklist of individuals and entities that exercise their constitutional right to utilize boycott as a form of free speech. Under this bill, individuals and entities that boycott a country (or companies based in that country) from a selective list of “allied nations” will be ineligible to contract with the state. The legislation also calls for the state to divest its holdings from any corporation that boycotts an “allied nation*.”

The proposed legislation runs counter to the US Supreme Court decision in NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., which concluded that boycotts constitute a political form of expression that “occupies the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.”

Join organizations across NY state opposing legislation that creates unconstitutional blacklists. Add your organization to the growing list of co-sponsors by following the link below.

[list in formation]

Center for Constitutional Rights

Palestine Legal

National Lawyers Guild - NYC,

Peace Action New York State

Peace Action of Staten Island

NY State Council of Churches

United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

American Friends Service Committee Northeast Region

New York Conference, United Church of Christ

Kairos: The Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice

Stony Point Center, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

United Methodist Upper NY Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel

Park Slope United Methodist Church, Social Action Committee

Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, New York Chapter